North Island photos vol. II

NZ makes me think of Ireland. Everything's so green!

More views from Blue Duck Lodge

Fun & games at Blue Duck

The greatest playground ever, demonstrated by Jamie

I'm sure this thing reduces teenage suicides

A pygmy blue whale skeleton at Te Papa. Pygmy!

 

Alien?! No, a giant squid.

Moi äiti!

Wellington streetscape

The North Island photos - finally?

Hello, long-forsaken blog!

In an attempt to catch up on the effect of my laziness and the poor internet connections in New Zealand, I'll post now a series of photo essays with minimal narrative which outline my adventures on the North Island.

A Maori cultural stay in Maketu

Another shot from Maketu, definitely a highlight of the tour

Party night at Taupo

Blue Duck lodge, the most scenic stop of the North Island

Traps are an important part of protecting endangered species from predators

Yours truly's Viking heritage manifested in axe-throwing

An overview of the Blue Duck Lodge with our bus

Our first busdriver, Mambo, watching over his kingdom

Aotearoa - The land of the long white cloud

Aotearoa, "The land of the long white cloud" is what New Zealand is called in the Maori language. I have found this rather easy to comprehend on my travels around this country as almost without exception the sky has been filled with clouds and only rarely has our expedition been blessed with sunshine.

The start of July, when I flew into NZ, is in the middle of the southern hemisphere's winter. That means the temperatures hover around +10 and +15 on the North Island, a relief for a Finn, accustomed to cooler temperatures, after the sunshine of Los Angeles. In many other ways besides climate has coming to New Zealand satisfied my longing for home. Kiwis (New Zealanders) seem to have a special connection to nature, testified by the existence of 14 national parks. Instantly when I rolled out of Auckland on a bus and I saw the rolling hills dotted with sheep I thought of my time in Ireland in 2008.

When staying in the hostel at Auckland, trying to get my bearings before heading to the South Island, I took a free city tour with the bus company Stray. Our guide, Chucky was competent in the job and had a great sense of humor. That is why he managed to bond our group together in the course of only one afternoon so that we spent that evening together at a Christmas party.

Stray's bus passes which enable backpackers to travel all of New Zealand or a smaller portion of the country were on sale and I managed to get an offer I couldn't turn down. This led to me buying a 22-day bus trek around the North and South Islands, on which I can hop off and hop on as many times as possible. The pass is good for 12 months. Also other companies, such as Kiwi Experience and Magic Bus offer similar passes but Stray has the best reputation.

My tourist visa is good for three months here so I will probably take my time hopping on and off buses in places I find interesting. I plan to utilize tools such as CouchSurfing, Help Exchange and hitchhiking to cut down my travel expenses. After New Zealand my next stop will be Australia.

Following are some photos from the first leg of my journey.

Bridal Veil Falls

The Falls from an another angle

The midwinter beach and surfers at Raglan

Introduction and travel philosophy

Hello readers!

This blog borrows its name from its sister, a blog which I wrote during my study abroad semester in the United States. During my exchange period I did not spend nearly as much money as I had thought, so I figured that I had finally got a chance to materialize my dream: a trip around the world. Although this is only my second backpacking trip, I have already started to see what type of travelling is suitable for me at this stage of my life; I try to make do with as little money as possible without compromising my comfort extensively and keep my plans vague enough to guarantee maximum flexibility. I will not drag around thousands of dollars worth of gear or run frantically around a city centre trying to get pictures of me standing in front of all the highlights the guidebook mentions. If I find a place worth spending some time in, I will alter my plans to make it happen. With these words and an introductory photo I welcome you to my first travel blog!

NZ views